Trigger Warning: Child Sexual Abuse Material
Man Pleads Guilty to 10 Counts of Possessing Illicit Images, Videos of Children
NORFOLK, Va. — Thomas Vernon Patnode, 35, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possessing child pornography after a cyber tip from a messaging app company alerted authorities to the presence of illicit images and videos on his cell phones last year.
On Sept. 15, 2024, Norfolk Police detectives were notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual in Norfolk had uploaded images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM; referred to under Virginia law as child pornography) on his Kik Messenger app. The images and videos depicted toddlers and young children in the nude and engaged in sexual acts. The detectives’ investigation led them to identify the Kik account owner as Mr. Patnode, and they secured search warrants for Mr. Patnode’s home address and devices.
On Feb. 5, police searched Mr. Patnode’s home, took him into custody, and recovered two cell phones from inside his bedroom. After being read his Miranda rights, Mr. Patnode admitted to detectives that the two phones contained CSAM, investigators extracted the contents of those phones, and they verified the presence of the CSAM on his phones.
On July 2, Mr. Patnode entered an agreement to plead guilty to one count of possessing child pornography as well as nine counts of subsequent-offense possession of child pornography and face an active sentence of up to eight years and six months in prison. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted Mr. Patnode’s plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on Sept. 12.
“The receipt and sharing of Child Sexual Abuse Material perpetuates the harm to innocent children from sexual abuse,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Patnode harmed real victims with real feelings, and he will now face a prison sentence as a result. We will continue to work to protect the public from those who gratify themselves through the suffering of children.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney J. Drew Fairbanks is prosecuting Mr. Patnode’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective David A. Benjamin led the investigation.
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